1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tape recorders, for example, to those which perform recording and playback on magnetic tapes, and in particular, to the tape recorders having cue & review mechanisms of recorded musics on magnetic tapes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, the tape recorders using tape cassettes for analog signals are mainly used as acoustic facilities to be loaded on private cars, etc. A tape recorder using a magnetic tape as a recording medium has a merit that it is less influenced by vibration in comparison with a CD (compact disk) player, etc. using digital signals and also it is low in cost. It has a demerit, however, that a cue & review processing of a music cannot be accurately made.
A method for a cue & review operation which is similar to that described in a Japanese Patent laid open under Publication No. 135448/82 is used in general tape recorders. An example of such a cue and review operation will be explained referring to FIG. 10. There are a first recording portion R1 and a second recording portion R2 shown by hatching on a magnetic recording surface of a magnetic tape 1. There is a no signal zone shown by void between the first and the second recording portions, R1 and R2. An arrow mark in the figure shows the movement of a magnetic head to execute a cue & review operation of the second recording portion R2. When a magnetic head starts a cue & review operation from a starting point Ts in the first recording portion R1, the magnetic head makes high speed feeding operation, which is faster than a playback speed, toward the second recording portion R2 in retrieving a first no signal zone having a first specified length L1. When the magnetic head passes the rear end E1 of the first recording portion and detects a no signal zone having a first specified length L1, the high speed feeding is suspended once and the direction is reversed and a feeding operation by the length of the second specified length L2 is performed toward the first recording portion R1. After that, the direction of the high speed feeding is again reversed, and a feeding operation by the length of a third specified length L3 is performed toward the second recording portion R2; then a playback operation is started as shown by an arrow expressed with a broken line.
In the case of a cue & review operation controlled as described in the above, the specified lengths L1, L2 and L3 are varied according to the wound state of a magnetic tape; because of this, it was not possible to realize a constantly accurate cue & review operation. In other words, the first, the second and the third specified lengths, L1, L2 and L3 are set by the operating period of time of the driving system which drives the magnetic tape, but a load to be applied to the driving system is changed by the change of the wound state of a magnetic tape. Moreover, a time lag in braking due to high speed feeding increases the change in feeding quantity, and in the result, in some case, it has occurred that a playback operation has been started in the first recording portion or in the second recording portion. Such instability in cue & review operations can give a user an impression of low quality of a tape recorder, which is an undesirable thing for a supplier.
As described in the above, in the case of a general tape recorder, when a cue & review operation is to be performed, it was difficult to make a magnetic head position accurately in the range of a no signal zone, a space between music numbers. When a magnetic head is not placed between music numbers, there occurs a problem that a playback operation can be started in the preceding music or on the way of the subject music of which the cue & review operation is to be executed.